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ABC Supply History & Milestones

Since its founding in 1982, ABC Supply Co. Inc. has revolutionized the roofing material distribution business. In the process, the company has grown into a $9 billion enterprise serving the needs of the professional contractor with exterior building material stores across the United States.

The success that is chronicled in the history of ABC Supply is the result of an unwavering focus on a single, simple guiding principle—treat contractors with respect, and give them the products and services they need to build their businesses.

Co-founder Ken Hendricks spent many of his formative years working with his father, who was a contractor. While learning firsthand the “ins and outs” of the roofing and siding businesses, Ken also witnessed the lack of respect that his father and his colleagues often received from their suppliers. That experience—and the lessons his father taught him about the importance of hard work, never giving up, and treating people with honesty and respect—formed the basis of the dream that would become ABC Supply.

By 1982, Ken was already a successful entrepreneur and the owner of two well-established companies—International Roofing and Hendricks Real Estate Properties. During the economic slowdown of 1982, Ken and his wife, Diane Hendricks, decided not to sit back and wait for better times to come. Instead, they chose to take a risk and acquire three supply centers from Bird & Sons Inc. These centers were the first locations of the new American Builders and Contractors Supply.

Ken and Diane’s dream was to put their contractor customers’ needs before everything else, treating them like the professionals they are, giving them the tools they deserve and upgrading their image along the way. They believed there was a better approach to meeting contractors’ needs, and that philosophy is the cornerstone of the dream that is today’s ABC Supply.

ABC Supply grew rapidly by acquiring other distributors and opening new facilities. Ken also established or acquired affiliate companies that produced some of the roofing, siding, windows and other products that ABC Supply sells. The largest of these acquisitions was that of Bradco Supply Corp., with its nearly 2,000 associates and 128 locations, in 2010. ABC Supply acquired Chicago-based L&W Supply in 2016, which added 136 locations across 36 states to the company’s roster.

Today, the company has more than 700 locations nationwide and is the largest wholesale distributor of roofing products in the United States, and one of the nation’s largest distributors of siding, windows and other select exterior building products. Through L&W Supply Corporation, the company also offers an array of interior products that includes drywall, ceiling tile, steel framing and other interior building supplies.

ABC Supply remains an “employee-first” company that treats its associates with respect and gives them the tools they need to succeed. It is a 12-time winner of the Gallup Great Workplace Award, which recognizes the best-performing workforces in the world, making ABC Supply one of only three companies worldwide to have earned the honor every year since the award’s inception in 2007.

Following is a timeline of milestones in ABC Supply’s history.

1982– American Builders and Contractors Supply founded with three stores.

1983– Six stores.

1984– 25 stores. ABC Supply is number three on the Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies.

1985– 37 stores. ABC Supply is number two on the Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies.

2005– 303 locations. $2.59 billion in sales. ABC Supply is ranked number 145 on Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Largest Private Companies. ABC Supply enters into a sponsorship agreement with racing legend A.J. Foyt and AJ Foyt Racing, sponsoring the No. 14 car in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. The company adds patio enclosures to its product offering with the acquisition of Town & Country Industries.

2007– 394 locations. ABC Supply celebrates its 25th anniversary. ABC Supply is one of only 12 companies worldwide to win the first Gallup Great Workplace Award, which recognizes the best-performing workforces in the world and is based on the most rigorous workplace research ever conducted. The company implements a new Customer Service Delivery System (CSDS) that enhances customer service by taking the best practices that individual branches had been using and making them the standard practices system-wide. The company wins the Pathfinder Recognition Award as part of the Wisconsin 75 awards program. ABC Supply expands its Town & Country Industries division with the acquisition of Ashley Aluminum and its 42 locations.

2008– 373 locations. David Luck is named chief executive officer of ABC Supply, also continuing in his role as company president. ABC Supply repeats as a winner of the Gallup Great Workplace Award, demonstrating again that it has one of the most productive and engaged workforces in the world. All ABC Supply branches are redesigned as Solution Centers, becoming premier destinations for product information and selection.

2009– More than 350 locations. ABC Supply acquires Chesapeake Siding and Roofing, a wholesale distributor of exterior building products with two locations, one in Virginia and the other in North Carolina. The company is honored with its third consecutive Gallup Great Workplace Award.

2010– More than 450 locations. More than $4 billion in sales. ABC Supply acquires Bradco Supply Corp.; it is the largest acquisition in ABC Supply’s history, adding nearly 2,000 associates and 128 locations in 30 states to the ABC Supply family. The company holds its inaugural Founders’ Celebration, honoring Ken and Diane Hendricks and celebrating the core values on which they built ABC Supply. For the fourth consecutive year, ABC Supply is honored with the Gallup Great Workplace Award; the company is one of only six four-time winners, having received the award every year since its inception.

2011– More than 450 locations. ABC Supply is again honored with the Gallup Great Workplace Award; the company is one of only four five-time winners, having received the award every year since its inception. ABC Supply receives the Distinguished Performer Award in the “People” category as part of the 2011 Wisconsin 75 awards program; the award recognizes a company’s commitment to its employees by encouraging empowerment and providing training assistance.

2012– More than 450 locations. ABC Supply celebrates its 30th anniversary. ABC Supply receives its sixth consecutive Gallup Great Workplace Award; it is one of only three companies to have received the award every year since its inception. ABC Supply acquires Superior Supply Co. Inc., adding branches in Bridgeton and Northfield, N.J.

2013- More than 450 locations. David Luck retires as ABC Supply’s CEO on Dec. 31. ABC Supply receives its seventh consecutive Gallup Great Workplace Award; it is one of only three companies to have received the award every year since its inception. ABC Supply acquires Sellmore Industries, Lee Wholesale Supply Inc., American Wholesale Building Supply Co., JB Supply Company and Midstates Wholesale Supply, adding branches in Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. ABC Supply also opens new start-up branches in Bergenfield, N.J. and Pleasant Gap, Pa.

2016– More than 700 locations. Over $8 billion in sales. ABC Supply receives its 10thconsecutive Gallup Great Workplace Award, making it one of three companies in the world to win the honor each year since its inception. The company acquires the assets of Chicago-based L&W Supply. It is one of the largest acquisitions in company history and added 136 locations across the country. The acquisition also makes ABC Supply one of the largest distributors of interior and exterior building supplies. Additionally, the company acquires the assets of T&C Supply, GK Building Supply Corp., Sidewinder Supply Inc., Ace Aluminum Distributors, Inc., and Trumbull Vinyl Products, Inc., adding locations in Ohio, Connecticut, Arizona and Florida. ABC Supply also opens a new location in Annapolis, Maryland.

2017– More than 700 locations and over 13,000 associates. $9 billion in sales. ABC Supply celebrates its 35th anniversary by recognizing the associates and customers who have made the company what it is today. The company becomes an 11-time recipient of the Gallup Great Workplace Award, making it one of three companies in the world to win the honor each year since its inception. The company also acquires the assets of Capstone Supply. The acquisition increases access to service and tools for Ohio contractors throughout the Columbus and Cincinnati markets, while adding two locations to ABC Supply’s footprint. The company also added 13 start-up locations.